Students at this university are involved in a number of community projects. In addition to several smaller initiatives, the university cultivates long-term projects with partners in the community. Students support these projects and initiatives as volunteers or interns. The University also offers regular seminars in the form of service-learning projects in which students can test their theoretical knowledge in social welfare projects.
The University maintains long-term partnerships with a local food bank, a drop-in center for children and families, a community service organization, and a church organization committed to ending child poverty. Whether working at the drop-in center, preparing a summer festival, or organizing a dinner with women refugees, students of the University lend their support and thus experience Hamburg from a different perspective. The projects are organized in Student Division C (login required). Open internship places with our cooperation partners can be found on our job board. (login required)
International studies have repeatedly shown that just under a fifth of all children and young people in Germany are unable to read at an age-appropriate level and are therefore at risk of becoming functionally illiterate. Our students help such children in various projects.
Every year since 2010, some 30 students have been mentoring pupils at the Bonhoefferstrasse and Sterntalerstrasse schools. They meet with their partners at least once a week to practice reading. This mentorship program is organized as an interdisciplinary studies seminar and is conducted in cooperation with Leseleo e.V., a Hamburg association that promotes reading skills among children.
“Reading with friends is fun” – this is the motto of the reading club that was established in cooperation with the Bonhoeffstrasse school in 2017. This club is supported by Stiftung Lesen, a foundation that promotes reading, and is funded by Kultur macht stark. Bündnisse für Bildung, a government program that promotes culture. href=”https://schulebonhoefferstrasse.schulhomepages.hamburg.de/leseclub/”>Students of the University help promote reading in this club as part of their internships.
In Hamburg, more than 2000 people – mostly senior citizens – promote reading skills as volunteers in extramural programs. As part of a 2011 research project, students at the University developed and conducted a further education day for reading mentors in order to help these volunteers. The concept was taken over by Mentor.Ring Hamburg e.V. and has since been executed on a regular basis at the State Institute of Teacher Training. A guideline for reading mentors entitled “Promoting Reading Skills – Opening New Worlds” was also developed in cooperation with Mentor.Ring Hamburg e.V.
Every year as part of what is now Hamburg’s third largest running event, the Solidarity Run, thousands of runners collect donations for soldiers wounded on deployment and for their families. The event is organized on a voluntary basis by students at the University. The proceeds amount to tens of thousands of euros each year and go to three military and police foundations.
Further information can be found here.
Letzte Änderung: 2. August 2021